ROME, Oct 19 2012 (IPS) – It is a tried and tested truth that when women come together in groups they can address their issues more powerfully than they can as individuals.

Cooperatives provide a sense of accountability and commitment, as well as healthy competition that brings tangible results, according to Saquina Mucavele, executive director of MuGeDe – Mulher, Genero e Desenvolvimento (Women, Gender and Development), a Mozambique-based non-profit organisation with a focus on sustainability, rural development and gender.

In Rome to participate in a seminar sponsored by the World Farmers Organisation on Oct. 19 about how agricultural cooperatives can assist rural women, Mucavele believes that “there is a need for stronger local networks that address women farmers’ and peasants’ specific demands, with a special focus on rural women smallholder farmers” . . .